Almost 3,200 volunteer groups will clean up litter along more than 7,200 miles of Michigan highway as the year’s second Adopt-A-Highway pickup gets underway July 14. The pickup will run through July 22, and follows an April cleanup. Adopt-A-Highway, a Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) program, began in 1990.
“Volunteers in the Adopt-A-Highway program perform a tremendous public service,” said State Transportation Director Kirk T. Steudle. “They take great pride in their communities, and help MDOT concentrate its limited resources on repairing roads and bridges.”
In 2011, Adopt-A-Highway volunteers collected more than 75,000 bags of trash, saving taxpayers $1.5 million in cleanup costs. The volunteers include members of various civic groups, businesses and families. Crew members have to be at least 12 years old, and each group must number at least three people.
Sections of highway are still available for adoption. Interested groups should check the MDOT Web page at www.michigan.gov/adoptahighway for more information and the name of their county’s coordinator, who can specify available roadsides. Groups are asked to adopt a highway section for at least two years. There is no fee to participate. Adopt-A-Highway signs bearing a group’s name are posted along the portion of adopted highway.
MDOT reminds motorists that littering is a violation of state law. Additionally, a person who tosses litter that hits or falls into the path of another vehicle on a highway is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail or a fine up to $500, or both.
This year’s final Adopt-A-Highway pickup will be Sept. 22 to 30.
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